Brassiere and detachable shoulder harness



March 28, 1967' J. MURRAY BRASSIERE AND DETACHABLE SHOULDER HARNESS Filed March 25, 1965 INVENTOR. J'A/Z/ Mai/$4 mam United States Patent 3,311,112 BRASSEERE AND DETACHABLE SHOULDER HARNESS Jean Murray, Brant Beach, N.J., assignor to Perfect Brassiere Company, Inc, Jersey City, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 25, 1965, Ser. No. 442,721 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-425) The present invention relates generally to an improved construction for a brassiere, and more particularly to certain features of construction for a brassiere which facilitates the interchangeability of the major part of said brassiere to the end of providing a product of greatly increased versatility and usefulness.

There is currently available a great variety of brassieres difiering from each other both in ornamental appearance and also in construction, the latter being exemplified, for example, by brassieres constructed either to be worn with or without supporting shoulder straps. In other words, from both a fashion and a utilitarian viewpoint there is a justification for the wide variety of brassieres which are currently available, and thus a complete ward-robe must necessarily include a majority of these differing brassiere products.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a brassiere having a novel construction wherein the major parts thereof are interchangeable so that there is a minimum of expense and parts duplication in providing a wardrobe having adequate fashion and utilitarian variation. More specifically, it is an object to provide a construction for a brassiere in which the brassiere front is detachable from the shoulder harness employed to support the same, thereby permitting the substitution of other brassiere fronts for use with the same shoulder harness.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a brassiere constructed so that the front and the supporting harness thereof are detachable from each other permitting the substitution of other brassiere fronts for use with said same shoulder harness, and wherein both the attachment and the detachment of these brassiere parts are readily accomplished and structurally provided for in the construction of said brassiere while maintaining a necessary high degree of comfort to the wearer.

A first embodiment of a brassiere demonstrating features of the present invention includes a shoulder harness having a back strap extending across the back of the upper torso of a wearer and shoulder straps connected at one end medially of said back strap and extended over the shoulders of said wearer. Provided separate and apart from said shoulder harness is a brassiere front which in practice is adapted to be supported by said harness on the respective free ends of said back strap and said shoulder straps. The attachment therebetween is achieved by attaching means carried respectively on said strap free ends and on aligning locations on said brassiere front.

In a second embodiment of la brassiere demonstrating features of the present invention, not only is the brassiere front detachable from its supporting shoulder harness, but additionally the shoulder straps forming a part of said harness are also detachable from the back strap forming a part of said harness. This embodiment thus contemplates the use of a brassiere front which is specifically constructed and designed for wear without suporting shoulder straps, as for example with so-called strapless evening wear.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be m re fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiments in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a brassiere demonstrating features of the present invention, and more particularly the aspect of detachability of the various parts thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the parts of the brassiere in an assembled condition;

FIG. 3 is an elevati-onal view, on a greatly enlarged scale and in section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2 and best illustrating an acceptable manner of making a connection between detachable parts of the brassiere herein; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a brassiere demonstrating features of the present invention.

Reference should be made to a first embodiment of a brassiere demonstrating features of the present invention which is illustrated in FIGS. l3 and generally designated 10 therein. Brassiere 10 includes a shoulder harness 12 which in practice is worn by the wearer over the shoulder region of the upper torso and which supports a brassiere front 14 conventionally constructed except as is indicated otherwise herein. The shoulder harness 12 includes a pair of shoulder straps 16, 18 each having conventional buckle means 20 therein for size adjustment, and each connected as by stitching 22 at one end 23 medially of a back strap 24 which forms the other major component of said shoulder harness 12. The back strap 24 in practice extends across the back of the upper torso of the wearer and at least as far on the sides of said wearer to present opposite ends 26, 28 at opposite sides of the front upper torso of the wearer. As is clearly shown in FIGS. 1, 2, the unattached or free ends 30, 32 of the shoulder straps 16, 18 respectively, which in practice are extended over the shoulders and down the front of the wearer, cooperate with said opposite ends 26, 28 of the back strap 24 to provide four strategic locations for supporting the brassiere front 14 on said shoulder harness 12. In accordance with an essential constructural feature of the brassiere 10 of the present invention herein, at said strap free ends 26, 28, 30 and 32 suitable attaching means are provided for only detachably connecting the brassiere front 14 and shoulder harness 12, and thus permitting ready detachment therebetWeen when it is desired to substitute another brassiere front 14 for use with the same shoulder harness 12. This may be desirable to employ brassiere fronts 14 which are differently decorated as, for example, by embroidery thereon, as well as for interchangeably using brassiere fronts 14 of different constructions with the same shoulder harness 12.

At the support locations 26, 28 it has been found desirable from the viewpoint of comfort of the wearer to use connecting means which lie flat against the wearers body and which have an interposed length portion of the strap 24 functioning as a cushioning means. A connecting means satisfying these requirements includes an interconnecting hook and eye arrangement 34. Such an arrangement may employ a pair of hooks 36 conventionally incorporated on the brassiere front 14, as by a panel 38 mounting said hooks and sewn to the opposite ends of said brassiere front 14. Cooperating with said hooks 36' are two sets of eyes 40 also incorporated in a conventional manner on sewn-in panels 41, but located in the respective ends 26, 28 of the strap 24.

At the remaining support locations 30, 32 it is found desirable to use as connecting means a set of cooperating 9 ea elastic loops 42 sewn to the tops of the cup constructions 44 of said brassiere front 14 and registering with the shoulder straps 16, 18. Disposed on each of the free ends 30, 32 is a hook 46 which cooperates with each of the elastic loops 42 in achieving a connection between said shoulder straps 16, 18 and brassiere front 14. Consistent with the intent of the present invention, the connection Which is achieved between said hooks 46 and elastic loops 42 is similarly of a detachable nature so that different model brassiere fronts 14 may be used interchangeably with the same shoulder harness 12.

Referring now to the second brassiere embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, it will be understood that there is a substantial duplication of constructural features with the embodiment already described, and that accordingly the same but primed reference numerals have been used to identify such duplicated constructural features. The essential modification in the brassiere 10 of FIG. 4 consists in the shoulder straps 16', 18 being not only detachably connected to the brassiere front 14', but also detachably connected at their respective opposite ends 23 to the back strap 24. At these two addiitonal locations, it is preferred to employ elastic loops 42 and cooperating hooks 46' attached to the respective shoulder straps as by the sewing 22.. With brassiere 10 it is thus possible to use a specialized brassiere front 14' constructed for use with so-called strapless evening wear and thus not employing shoulder straps 16, 18 in a supporting harness 12'.

In connection with the hooks 46, 46', it will be noted that constructionwise, each hook includes an appropriate base slot separate and apart from the actual hooking configuration thereon, and which slot is adapted to receive a length portion of. the strap t-herethrough which when folded back upon itself forms a loop which is then secured by the previously refer-red to stitching 22, 22.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claim be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

A brassiere comprising a shoulder harness including a back strap adapted to extend across the back of the upper torso of a wearer and shoulder straps each connected at one end medially of said back strap and adapted to extend over the shoulders of said wearer, a brassiere front adapted to be worn across'the front upper torso of said wearer and detachably supported by said shoulder harness on said respective free ends of said back strap, and shoulder straps, said free ends of said straps and said brassiere front, at locations aligning with said strap free ends, respectively carrying cooperating attaching means for detachably making connection therebetween and permitting detachment of said brassiere front from said shoulder harness and the substitution of other brassiere fronts for use with said same shoulder harness, said attaching means including cooperating hook and eye means at least on said back strap and at said brassiere front aligning locatrons.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,838,604 12/1931 Wozencraft et al. s 128-506 2,268,781 1/1942 Slotoroff 128456 2,590,915 4/1952 Allison 128506 2,782,418 2/1957 Garson 128510 2,817,089 12/1957 Oelbaurn 128512 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

